-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- For decades , comic books have had major shake-ups in their pages , with varying degrees of fan support -- and outrage .

In 1992 , well before the advent of social media , Superman was killed and comic books went flying off the shelves .

In 2007 , social media like Facebook and Twitter were in their infancy when Captain America died .

And now -- due in part to the abundance of social media and the intense interest in Spider-Man 's alter ego , Peter Parker -- a firestorm has erupted , after Marvel revealed that Parker will die , and the role of Spider-Man will be taken over by his archenemy , Doctor Octopus .

The just-released `` Amazing Spider-Man '' # 700 marks the end of one of the most popular comic book series of all time after 50 years . All parties involved maintain that the changes are quite permanent , and next month the saga begins anew with the release of `` The Superior Spider-Man '' # 1 , with the Doc , Otto Octavius , stepping into the Spidey suit .

Otto believes that with the combination of his intelligence and Parker 's inherited memories and spider powers , he can be an uber-Spider-Man . He can live Parker 's life better than Peter could -- from fighting crime to getting back together with on-again , off-again girlfriend Mary Jane Watson .

When issue # 700 was leaked early , fan reaction -- both positive and negative -- went into overdrive , with a few death threats directed at the issue 's writer , Dan Slott .

Slott reacted on his Twitter and Facebook by saying he would report any threats : `` Reality check : There is NO such thing as a ` funny death threat . ' Especially if you TAG someone in it . ''

Slott later noted that the reactions were getting more civil , as time went on .

Comic book reader calls the new Spider-Man ` inferior '

CNN spoke separately to Slott and to Marvel editor Stephen Wacker about the controversial comic .

CNN : Why did you choose Doc Ock as the next Spider-Man ?

Dan Slott : When we first met Peter Parker , he was a teenage bespectacled nerd who resented all the other kids . One of his first lines was , `` Some day I 'll show them all ! Some day they 'll be sorry they ever laughed at me . '' That 's not something a hero would say . If Peter had never learned the lesson of `` great power and great responsibility , '' there 's every chance he would have become a supervillain .

And then you have Otto Octavius , a bespectacled scientist who , after his radioactive accident , became the eight-legged Doctor Octopus . For all intents and purposes , he was the adult Peter could have become , Spider-Man 's dark reflection . So what if we flipped it ? What if we gave him a second chance ? Peter 's final , heroic act was giving Doc all the memories and experiences that kept him on the right path . But is that enough ? Can that overcome Ock 's true nature ?

CNN : How did this idea originate ?

Stephen Wacker : This was an idea Dan had when he came onto the book . It changed shape as we went . It was n't originally going to be in the 700th issue , but as the story grew , we realized maybe it was time to change up the makeup of Spider-Man for good , to make a permanent change . With that and the fact that the 50th anniversary was approaching , we thought , let 's go out with a bang .

CNN : Did the word spread around Marvel quickly when this was first discussed ?

Wacker : Three times a year we have editorial retreats , where we bring in our writers and discuss every single book . Anytime we talk about Spider-Man , it 's a big deal . There were certainly some loud opinions in the room .

Our editor-in-chief , Axel Alonso , was one of the louder voices not buying it originally . All the things Axel poked at toughened the story up and made us look at things differently .

CNN : Was that a sneak preview of how fans might react ?

Wacker : The fan reaction never really surprises me . Anything you do with any of our characters , there 's a big vocal fan base , particularly online . It gets more magnified with Spidey . You find people of all stripes reacting -- people who have been reading it for 50 years and love it , and others who say they 're quitting Marvel forever .

I keep all the fan mail . You can see some of the same people who have written about six things over the past six years that made them drop Marvel forever .

There are not a lot of storytelling opportunities in the world where you get such an immediate , visceral reaction . That 's a part of the job I like .

Slott : I 've actually gotten a fair amount of `` This is awesome ! '' -LRB- reactions to the story -RRB- , but it 's been very polarizing . No one has a middling review . No one has a take of , `` It was all right . '' People are very split .

I got an angry tweet saying , `` I do n't like seeing bad things happen to good people . '' I 'm like , good luck reading Charles Dickens , Mark Twain -- anything in literature !

Now people are saying , `` Nooooo ! Why are you being mean to -LRB- Peter -RRB- ? '' The answer is two words : `` Dra . Ma . ''

CNN : Have you learned anything in dealing with the reaction to this particular issue on social media ?

Slott : We have the most passionate fans in the world ! Everyone knows who Spider-Man is -- and everyone cares about him !

In the world of comics , thanks to -LRB- newspaper publisher -RRB- J. Jonah Jameson , everyone thinks he 's a menace . But in our world , he 's beloved . Now we 're going to flip that too . The readers are Jonah . They are n't ready to cut this guy a break . They think he 's a menace ! This is going to be the most meta Spider-Man of them all ! And going from everything I 've seen on social media , I am so up for that challenge !

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`` Amazing Spider-Man '' # 700 is latest comic book to court controversy

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The just-released issue has plot developments that radically change the Spidey-verse

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` Amazing ' writer has received extreme reactions , positive and negative , from fans online